We went on a luxurious family getaway. Right here in beautiful Cape Town.

This weekend we stayed at Tsogo Sun, Southern Sun’s The Cullinan Hotel.  They’re running a SunBreaks special at the moment, as well as 15% discount if you book in advance. You can read all about that on a previous blog post here. They have hotels spread all around South Africa, but The Cullinan is truly grand & beautiful.

The staff is real friendly, the food is great. They have a shuttle that departs to the V & A Waterfront every hour & they assist you with your local travel needs. They have 24 hour room service. A bar, gorgeous pool area with couches, loungers & tables. A pianist on a grand piano in reception & during dinner. Accommodation includes breakfast which is a heavenly buffet spread with everything from pork sausages to waffles. At reception they even serve water flavoured with fresh cuts of fruit – pineapple, melon & grapefruit. Everything is so clean, white, fresh and classic. It really was nice being treated to luxury and getting away from the regular peanut butter sandwich & oros routine at home. Noah and Benjamin especially loved it, and the chef & hotel managers treated them something special. I wish you could have seen their faces at the sight of their very first dessert buffet. 

The Cullinan arranged a few activities for us: A trip to Robben Island, The City Sightseeing bus and the Two Oceans Aquarium. On Saturday night, after dinner we snuggled in to our room (two queen size beds in a single room) with an amazing view of the city and drank tea, ate biscuits, chocolate and watched a bit of Discovery Channel together. Noah especially loved our room’s telephone and called switchboard and reception several times to explain who he was and how old he is. He kept pestering the receptionist on how old she is, so we’ll need to work on his manners. The hotel is luxurious, but the staff are warm and The Cullinan is definitely child and family friendly. The boys loved exploring and chatting to everyone like it was their own palace. 

Being a tourist in your own city has a certain romance about it. We learned so much about Cape Town. For example Strand Street in the city center used to be where the ocean front was. Can you imagine that? It used to be our Waterfront. We heard more about District Six, visited the Castle, monuments, museums – really there is just too much to talk about here. Seeing Nelson Mandela’s old jail cell… Listening to the tour guide (he was also a prisoner there) and hearing how the wardens and guards used to treat the prisoners was… Depressing. Robben Island was referred to by the political prisoners as The University as that’s where they learned from one another. Nelson Mandela predicted that one day our country would be run by prisoners and today, it is. Dozens of our ministers and members of Parliament were once jailed at Robben Island. I can’t explain to you how small their cells were. About the length of a single bed, and the width about a bed and a half. I don’t even want to get in to it (I actually do) but please go to Robben Island and hear it from the ex prisoners for yourself. The trip includes a bus tour of the island where some of the old guards and wardens still live to this day. 

Thanks to Tsogo Sun and Southern Sun’s The Cullinan for a luxurious and relaxing weekend break. It was the boys’ first time in a hotel and it was very special for them. If you’re planning a trip sometime this year, then have a look at their Leisure Rates over here. Happy holidaying! (Pictures are my own)